


Nádúr

by AnnabelleRaen



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 14:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10992822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnabelleRaen/pseuds/AnnabelleRaen
Summary: Title means "Nature" in Irish.Sean 'Jack' McLoughlin finds himself waking up in a strange forest, far from home. Very far from home, by the looks of the alien creatures and vegetation surrounding him.Luckily, everything in the forest loves him - more than just as friendly neighbours, an teach him the ways of the woods. After only a week of living with nature, Jack doesn't really want to leave.That is, until he finds out there's civilization nearby.And by civilization, he means futuristic societies that seem a bit out of place with the forests so nearby. What's with these people warning him away from the forests, anyway?





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow based off "I'm Still Standing" by Johnny from Sing.
> 
> Don't ask.

Jack woke, terribly discombobulated, to the sound of birds squawking, and crickets chirping. A frog was staring back at him when he opened his eyes, but jumped away as soon as he did.

The sounds stopped immediately, as if silenced by his awakening. Turning his head, he found himself in the middle of a clearing, blackened by what may have been fire, and surrounded by trees, somehow untouched by said fire.

Eyes, millions of them, were glowing as they just watched from the growth; different shapes and sizes stared back at him unblinkingly, despite the quiet. Slowly, he sat up, bringing a knee up to plant his foot in the earth beneath him and rolling to one side before pushing himself up on one hand. His head swung, making him shut his eyes tight against the offending dizziness. He groaned, a pained sound, and suddenly the forest came to life again, if only for a second; all the noises came back at full volume for a few moments before his eyes opened in surprise and they died down to complete hush once more. Frowning slightly, he stood, wobbling a little but steadying himself with a hand on the trunk of a tree. Dusting his hands on the legs of his jeans, he looked around once more. Horribly discomforting were the eyes that were still there, worse were the ones that were his eye level and higher. He could see shapes faintly; those weren't just birds perched in high branches.

"Where am I?" he mumbled to himself, voice louder and accent sounding much more prominent in the silence. His only response was a shuffling in the bushes, as the entire forest seemed to move with his words. 

Groaning, creaking sounds made him turn around quickly, only to see the trees slowly crawling apart by the roots, revealing a path to nowhere. 

Looking around for any other sign of life and terrified for his life, Jack could do nothing but move forward.

"Although I could just stay here for the rest of my life. I'd be fine with that. Nothing wrong with this clearing. It's a nice patch of dirt if I do say so myself. Fruits fall from trees, right. I won't starve. Wait, do these trees bear fruit?" 

As if answering his mindless rambling, a round... something fell from the tree closest to him. Upon picking it up, he found it wasn't like any fruit he'd seen before, this one was round but bright purple, had a short stalk and was freckled with seeds.

So they were fruit trees.

Continuing along the path with the fruit in hand, Jack swallowed thickly as the trees continued to pave a road for him, parting when he approached and making the creepiest of sounds as they did.

The animals of the forest followed him as well, scuttling around as he made his way along the path. They scurried past him when a new path was created, only to be perfectly quite when he walked the road and to dart away again once he reached the end and waited for the trees to move again.

After about an hour of this- or what felt like an hour; Jack had no perception of time anymore, the trees stopped moving. He frowned slightly, waiting for them to do the thing again and show him where to go, but they stayed put, just as regular trees would.

With a slight scowl, Jack was about to venture into the brush, but was stopped by a bone chilling growl, followed by hundreds of other warning sounds, all of which stopped when he backed up away from the tall grass ahead.

He began to get impatient, after waiting for a little while. "What? What do you want me to do? Where am I supposed to go- Hell, where the fuck am I?" Jack was scared, far from home- or, as 'home' as a small studio for a struggling artist like himself could get- and exhausted.

He was met with no response, apart from his own furious panting, and slumped against a tree in anger, sliding down until he hit the ground, crossing his arms and glaring at the shrubbery opposite.

Night found him in this very position, eyelids drooping only to blink open again, wary of all the creatures watching him. Against his will, he found them closing again, and, unable to keep them open, he tilted his head back against the tree and fell asleep, the forest around him growing closer and closer, until once again he was left in a small circle.

When he woke, it was to a different animal staring at him. This time much worse than a frog. Sitting directly in front of him was a tiger...of sorts. With the mane of a lion, fangs long enough to jut out past its jaw and a black and white striped coat, this tiger wasn't very common looking.

Jack's breath caught in his throat and he froze, staring back at the tiger creature that was observing him with seemingly disinterested blue eyes that matched his own, surrounded by a green sclera.

"H-hey there...you." Jack said quietly, his voice an octave higher than usual in his fright. The creature's eyes brightened, causing him to choke on whatever words he might have said next. I stood, and Jack's eyes got wider. This thing... was huge. It may be that from Jack's sitting perspective that the animal was much taller than it should be, but it seemed to stand taller than any animal Jack had seen before. 

Granted, he hadn't seen many that weren't cats and dogs - and the occasional rat (which, mind you, in Ireland's apartments, were sometimes bigger than both aforementioned animals) but this tiger was way out of proportion.

It stretched, clawing at the ground and leaving three deep grooves in the ground from each front paw. Arching its back, its ear twitched slightly before it gracefully sauntered towards Jack, who scrambled to stand. When the animal stopped and stared at him with predatory eyes, Jack knew that had been a bad idea, but he wasn't thinking straight, okay?

A few minutes later found Jack in the same position, and the animal still watching him. Seemingly satisfied, the animal continued towards him until it was right in front of him, and nope, it wasn't because he was sitting down. This thing really was bigger than any tiger had the right to be.

They stared at each other for several seconds until the animal slowly leaned forward and butt Jack's chin with the top of its head.

...

What?

Jack released a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. This did mean that the animal wasn't going to eat him, right? At least, not yet? 

Not yet is better than now, and no one could tell him otherwise.

Jack hoped that anyone who could have told him otherwise was still alive.

He decided not to think about that.

Back to the present predicament, Jack had a six-foot tiger creature in front of him, rubbing its face against his own, and he didn't know how he felt about the wet nose that dipped into his collarbone and made him make a small sound at the cold feeling. It stopped, pulling back, before Jack shook his head slowly.

"It-It's fine, just. Cold." He said, not sure why he was speaking to the thing as if it could understand him.

Somehow, it did understand him, and moved back to coddle him. 

Jack...was confused, to say the least. 

What the actual hell was going on here?

He didn't know where he was, how he got here or what this thing was, and frankly, he was pretty done with trying to figure it out.

"Well, the trees seem to have led me here. What're you here for? Hopefully to help." Jack sighed, cautiously bringing a hand up to touch the thing's head, keeping his hand in its view so he didn't startle it into biting his head off or something.

After a minute or two, Jack had relaxed enough to lean against the tree as the creature nuzzled into his neck. It was only when a lick to his left hand, hanging limp at his side had been licked by something that he tensed up, making the creature rear back and watch him carefully, before it looked to his left hand, where another one of its kind had emerged from the bushes. 

"Oh...another one. of course. Do you want to kill me?" he asked nervously, backing up impossibly further into the tree that he was almost attached to it.

The new animal just looked at him with eyes rounder that its counterpart, and Jack noticed its eyes were different, a crystal blue that matched what a normal tiger's would look like. It was also smaller than the other one. Much smaller; about the size of what a normal tiger should be.

Jack released a frazzled laugh, and both the animals' ears swivelled in his direction at the sound.

"Of course," he said, borderline hysteric, "of course the tiny one is what the normal one should look like." he said, a hand automatically coming up to run through his hair, combing through it a few more times for good measure as he thought about everything he'd been through in the past... who even knew how long it had been since he got here?

He came back to reality, however, as the bigger creature came towards him and suddenly licked his hair. Its tongue was like sandpaper, and made his hair stick up in the direction it licked.

Jack couldn't help but snicker at the feeling of his hair being stuck up in one direction. When his laughter died down, the animal was still grooming him, and the smaller one was making deep growling sounds that he would have found terrifying before now. Raising his hand slowly, he put a hand on the smaller one's head and pet it, building up a pace that matched the licking he was getting from the bigger one.

Minutes passed; Jack counted in time with the grooming, awkwardly standing until his legs hurt, and slowly and one by one, more animals emerged from the forest. They bore striking resemblance to normal animals, but were marginally different.

The 'deer' had the legs, bodies and heads of their normal counterparts, but they were all white, celestial, almost, and the antlers of the males made intricate designs, different on each stag.

There were rabbits, too, small cotton tailed critters with black coats and green eyes, their ears longer than average and white on the insides, flopping over their eyes in the way only toys made them.

There were more; squirrels, skunks, bugs, wolves, raccoons, and even bears; all different in their own ways to the ones Jack knew, but somehow still the same.

Days passed in the clearing, the trees obligingly making space for the creatures that came and went, until it was big enough for a small house and extra. The animals would bring Jack fruits, each bringing their own kind, and wanting him to have theirs first. It was endearing, to say the very least, and Jack had them all despite how sick he may have gotten afterwards.

They soon found which ones weren't meant for human consumption. 

Unfortunately, his purple fruit wasn't meant to be eaten all in one sitting. Luckily, he could have a bite or two without keeling over. He wasn't parting with the first thing he met so easily.

More days passed, and Jack, asleep with the rabbits and their newest litter- a healthy set of twelve kits, was woken by the sound of the trees moving. He blinked himself awake, gently lifting the few kits that had clambered on him after he fell asleep and putting them next to their brethren. He slowly stepped over the line of animals that surrounded him, mostly for warmth during the cold nights, and peered into the dark opening only to see a familiar pair of eyes glowing in the distance and coming closer. He squinted into the darkness, yawning.

"What're you doin' out so late? C'mon, you know you're not the smallest of creatures, you'll wake the kits when you get here." he said, gesturing vaguely to it before turning his back to it and going back to his sleeping space. Still warm, thankfully, though slightly cooler than when he'd left it. The animal entered the circle of animals and the trees closed behind it. Jack lay down and closed his eyes, about to sleep again, but heard a small mewling sound. He rolled over to see the creature with a kit in its mouth, holding it by the scruff. He sighed and reached for it, taking it out of the creature's mouth and putting it on his other side, moving the others as well for the creature to slump down into that spot. He gave it a judging look.

"Y'know, if you'd stayed here we wouldn't have this problem." he said, gesturing to the five now awake and crying kits. The creature somehow gave a sheepish expression and waited. Jack picked the kits up and put them between him and their parents, sleeping soundly. Jack snorted.

"Plus one parenting." he said, leaving his hand in the middle of them so they could lean against it to fall back asleep as the other hand pet them one at a time before going full circle and starting over. Once they fell asleep he rolled onto his back and watched the tree leaves above, hearing the creature give a soft huff to his left. 

"I can't sleep." he whispered to it. It gave a small growl in return.

"This is your fault." No response.

"What, you wake me up and fall asleep yourself? Basterd." he grumbled, but was shut up by a paw on his head, raising up before coming down on it again.

"Are- are you pawing at me, you domesticated feline? No, look, you woke me up, so stay up until I fall asleep." Jack said grumpily, grabbing the paw and lifting it off his head and dropping it on the ground where he then set his head on it as a pillow.

"Now shh, you're breaking my concentration. Sleeping is a tricky art."

Whatever judging sound Jack knew he got in response he didn't get to snark back at, as he fell asleep soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahaha what is this someone help me i dont know what im doing make me stop OTL
> 
> :3
> 
> ~Anna


	2. Two

Mornings sucked. No one wanted to wake up in the cold mornings but work had to be done. 

Recently Jack had been going into the forests with some of the animals; they had begun a few days prior, the deer nudging him out of his circle with persistent noses. He had followed them for the day, realizing they were going very slow for his human legs to keep up with them until they got to what was most likely their home.  
It wasn’t a ‘den’ per se, as Jack had no idea if deer actually made dens, but more of a wide area of grass covered by overhanging vines and leaves, almost a cave made from leaves and branches, except it stretched for miles far and wide. He watched as the deer left him to go to the others, frolicking happily in their environment. He couldn’t help but smile. It was really peaceful. 

A small sound caught his attention, and he found a fawn some paces away, next to his mother and wobbling on the uneven ground. He smiled as it took a few steps then fell. Its mother pushed it back up with a nose pushing at its rump, and it stood again, slowly. It made its way over to Jack with a few stumbles here and there before falling just before him. Jack stooped to its level and helped it up gently, not sure where to hold up or what parts to support, but he did it anyway. The fawn stood on shaky legs before continuing its walk around the area, passing Jack and going over to another deer.

The day was uneventful, as deer don’t do much past eating and playing around with each other, but Jack found it fun all the same. It probably said a lot about him that he ended up playing with the young stags and some fawns instead of just looking on with the adults.  
The next day he followed the wolves to their den and played with the cubs. All the animals in this forest survived on the fruits, although from their anatomy he could tell that they could be just as carnivorous if driven to be. They just chose to coexist, and it was a beautiful thing. Jack had laughed as he helped break branches off berry bushes. These animals were doing much better than humans.

Today, however, Jack wasn’t herded out by any of them , so he decided to explore by himself. Every animal stopped their noise as he stepped into the bushes, and he blinked, raising an eyebrow at them.

“What, I can’t go off on my own? I’m not a child, yknow.” he said, but got no response. Eventually, however, the tiger stood and stretched, giving a contented sound before sluggishly moving over to where he was, and the animal’s noises started up again.  
Jack gave him a look.

“I don’t need a babysitter.” he said, but the animal just looked at him in a way that made him offended for some reason. Jutting out his bottom lip, Jack huffed and marched off into the bushes, the tiger following him.

After walking in a straight line, Jack hummed in thought.

“Is there anything past the forest?” he asked the tiger, which seemed to stop everything it was doing and turned to see Jack, staring longingly out into the distance. It was quiet, before releasing a breath and nudging Jack forward gently with its nose. Jack looked down, a curious frown marring his features.

“What?” he asked, and the tiger just nudged him again. “Alright, I’m going…but where exactly are we going?” he asked, continuing forward. No response, not even a growl. It worried Jack, but he shrugged it off.

The minutes passed, until it had been at least half an hour of walking, and Jack stopped, breathing slightly heavy.

“Gimme a second.” he said, looking around for any familiar fruit trees to munch on. He wasn’t hungry, but all the fruits were his source of water intake, and he really needed some right now. Spotting the trees he knew fairly well, he looked around for anything to prod it down with, but found nothing. He looked over to the creature with wide, innocent eyes.

“Uh… little help?” he asked, pointing to the branch. The creature sent him a look but did a little wiggle, bouncing from left to right on its back paws before jumping, scaling half the tree in a single leap and balancing on a thick branch. Somehow he always knew which ones would support his weight. With a swipe of its paw, the bunch of fruits fell from the branch above it and plummeted down to the ground, a few paces away from Jack. He waited for the creature to come down before hugging it in thanks as it went over to the bunch and nosed it. 

All the animals did it; sniffed out his fruits before letting him eat it. He guessed it was because some may have worms in them or something or the sort. Once the tiger was satisfied, he munched on some himself, swallowing five at once while Jack finished his first one. Taking two with him, he continued ahead, the creature nudging him left or right every now and then.

Where were they going?

Jack found out soon enough, as after walking for another half hour and finishing their last fruit, the trees started to thin out, and the grass became sparse until it was gone, earth in its place for miles around. What made Jack’s eyes widen and jaw drop, however, was what was in the middle of everything.

Walls.

A city, hundreds of houses big, sat in the middle of it, a black, floating car was leaving it, going further away. To another city. Jack looked to the tiger with wide eyes.

“Why didn’t you guys tell me there were people here? And dude, this kind of technology?!” he asked, incredulous. The tiger just narrowed his eyes at the city, pacing up and down in front of Jack before simply lying next to his feet, growling quietly. Jack nudged him with his foot to quieten him.

“Oh, stop being a big baby, there are people here!” he said, excited. “I haven’t seen people in so long! I never liked them before, but God am I happy to see them now.” he said, ready to go into town, but stopped.

“They won’t be… y’know, scared of you, will they?” he asked, receiving a dry look in return. He huffed. “Just though I’d ask. Can I… uh. Can I go see?” he asked, earning a glare. He groaned, sitting next to the tiger.

“I know, I know, but they’re my species, dude!” he said, waving madly to articulate. The tiger just looked at him, before returning his gaze to the cluster of houses. Jack stayed quiet, formulating a good begging speech, before the tiger eventually sighed and rested his head in his paws, looking from Jack to the city and closing his eyes. Jack felt the grin growing on his face.

“Thank you thank you thank you so much, oh my God!” he said, standing and jumping up and down in his excitement. The tiger didn’t respond, just looked at him with wide eyes. Jack smiled and pet him behind the ears.

“I know, buddy. I’ll be careful. No one’ll even notice me there!” he said, and the tiger seemed to laugh at that, a sound that was almost a growl but not quite; airy and recurring. 

“I can be sneaky!” he protested, crossing his arms and looking away.  
Ignoring him, the tiger moved back into the trees and lay in the shade of the canopy above. Jack saluted him playfully, making his way backwards towards the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatcha think! Criticism is appreciated, as long as you don't blast a hole in my already shabby ego :3  
> ~Anna


	3. Three

Going all the way around, Jack kept close to the trees until he was a good distance away, and then went onto the ‘road’, a path made from many horse carts going over it.

It was a short trek to the city, upon which Jack fiddled with the fruit he held, turning it over and over in his hand in sync with his breathing and heartbeat.

When he neared the city, he heard the bustle of what he could barely make our enough to be a shopping centre, and once he entered the city, he couldn’t help the huge grin he wore.

Going from store to vendor, he touched all the things and made friends with all the people, saying hello and offering to fetch things for the elderly when they passed. Continuing into the city, Jack learned there wasn’t a leader, just people living together.

There was, however, a sort of military system whose members were kind of like the elites of the city, run by a majority vote kind of rule. This was ‘the capital,’ and other cities and towns answered to this one.

He happened upon a fruit store, and noticed some of the strange fruit he’d seen at the edge of the forest. Everything else was around 50 and 60 gold coins, but these were worth 100.

“Whoa, what’s all the fuss about these?” he asked the man selling. The man chuckled.

“New here, aren’t ya?” upon Jack’s nod, he continued. 

“These ‘ere are from the forest.” He said, a smirk on his lips. “Snagged ‘em this mornin when it was still dark. The beast tried to stop me, but I got them before he could reach me.” The man said, and Jack’s eyes widened.

“The beast?” he asked, a laugh threatening to spill over. If he spoke of who Jack thought he spoke of...

“Aye,” the man nodded, “The beast. Bigger than a full grown man, white as snow but striped. Teeth longer than a butchers knife. Eyes like a demon.” He said, a grave expression pinching his face. “Go see the vegetable vendor, she can tell you more.” The man said, earlier seriousness gone. “And buy somethin next time, kid.” He said, waving Jack off.  
Once he was far enough away, Jack burst into quiet giggles. 

“The Beast.”

“Perfect.” He mumbled, amused. Looking around for a vegetable sign, he found it a store or two from the fruit guy, and went over.

“Hi.” He said, and the woman smiled kindly at him.

“Aw well haven’t you the most adorable accent?” she giggled, reaching over and punching his cheek. He flushed lightly.

“Really, you’re the cutest thing.” She said, making him turn a darker shade. “What can I getcha, hon?” she asked, and Jack cleared his throat.

“Actually, I was hoping you could tell me more about this beast that everyone’s talking about?” he asked, and she rolled her eyes.

“Well, if you’re here for idle gossip, my son can help you more than I can.” She said, calling into the back of the store.

“Felix! C’mere, make a friend!” she yelled, making Jack smile.

“I’m coming! Can’t a guy have privacy to do guy things?” called a nasally voice, heavily accented.

“Get a girlfriend and I’ll give you your time!” she yelled back, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly at Jack, who laughed behind his hand.

“I need time because I don’t have one.” The guy said, sounding much closer. He came out of the back, a smile on his lips as he teased his mother, who made a disgusted face. 

“Right?” he turned to get Jack’s agreement.

“Afraid I can’t help; I don’t swing that way.” He said, shrugging lightly, and the woman snorted.

“Picked the wrong person to ask about girls, huh?” she snickered at her son.

“Ugh. Whatever. So, do I need to get the police here or something?” Felix asked.

“Not this time. This cutie’s just here to find out the lore. Go on, have fun.” she said, shooing him away. Giving her a fake offended look, Felix gestured for Jack to follow him into the street.

“So, you’re here to learn all about The Beast, huh?” Felix asked, and Jack nodded.

“Yeah, the uh, the guy at the other store said to-“

“Oh, that old geezer. Always sends people my way.” Felix scowled, but then smiled. “Well buddy, you did good listening to him, cause I’m the best lore teller to ever tell lore.” he said. Jack smiled at his attitude. 

“Okay, so. The Beast, as we call it, is… well, we don’t know what it is. Hence ‘The Beast.’ Duh. It’s said to be huge, taller than grown men and stronger than a thousand. Eyes that follow you no matter where you are, once it’s chosen you as its next target. Bright blue. Kinda like yours,” Felix said, pausing to look at Jack in the eyes. “But the sclera,” he shook his head, looking away again. “Green. Like the most toxic waters.”

Jack didn’t know if he was shocked or amused. 

“No one’s ever seen it fully, but it is a real thing. Lots of people have seen glimpses of it, seen the eyes watching them before disappearing without making any kind of sound.” Felix said, and Jack nodded. Yeah, the bastard always snuck up on Jack. In fact, he and the smaller one made it into some kind of competition; who can scare Jack into having a heart attack first, was what it was called.  
Jack wasn’t a fan.

“I’ve had people come in to the military base shredded into bits from that thing.” Felix said, shaking his head. “Never eaten; all of them is there, just… killed.” he said, and Jack swallowed audibly. 

“You’re…some kind of officer, then?” he asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Not exactly, I’m the doctor of the main garrison in the Capital.” he said, and Jack’s eyes widened.

“Dude, you’re a doctor? That’s so cool.” he said, and Felix laughed.

“It’s not that big a deal.” he offered humbly.

The two hit it off well after that, learning everything about each other within a few hours of idly venturing the streets.  
Felix pointed out places to Jack, explaining the story behind them being built, all the while mixing his own stories in, like the time he and his friend Ethan were younger and they painted a patch of Felix’ mother’s store bright orange, hoping to make it stand out to the crowd so more people would go there.

She wasn’t at all pleased; but found it so sweet of them that they got off without punishment.

In turn, Jack told Felix things about himself, how Felix and Ethan’s escapades reminded him of his own friend, Phil, who, when they were younger, wanted his room to have all the colours of the rainbow, so they used Jack’s acrylic paints to make a complete mess of the wall. Needless to say, his parents hadn’t bought him a new set of paints for a good while, and he and Phil spent weeks getting the stuff off the apartment’s walls after being scolded.

Jack felt close to Felix in a really cool way, like he’d just found this person who he could share everything with. Was this was a ‘best friend’ was like? Jack hadn’t had those before. In his excitement, Jack wanted to tell Felix everything. 

About him not being from this world, waking up in the forest that was apparently forbidden, the animals everyone feared that loved him as their own. And he, in turn, loved them as his family. 

But he couldn’t.

Despite how much he wanted to invite Felix into the forest, he knew he couldn’t. The animals mightn’t like the new arrival, or Felix might get scared and run away. God knows what would happen then.

So Jack stayed quiet. 

He visited the Capital every few days, spending time with Felix and learning the layout of the city, in the shadows of the buildings where no one would see him.  
Felix never questioned it, why Jack refused to be seen with him in public. He had asked, on Jack’s curiosity, that if Jack didn’t want to then who was he to make him?

He couldn’t exactly tell him ‘I don’t want anyone from the city see me and recognise me if I’m ever caught going to and from the forest.’ so he just thanked Felix in a small voice, feeling terribly guilty.

\---

“Don’t be such a baby,” Jack chastised, rolling over on Felix’ bed so he was facing the ceiling. “Ask her out, man.” he encouraged, but Felix just gave him a look.

“She’s not gonna say yes, Jack.” Felix said, and Jack rolled his eyes.

“You don’t know that she’ll say no. Marzia sounds awesome, from the way you pine about her like a teenager.” he said, and Felix threw a cushion at him.

“Shut up. Wait, ‘like a teenager?’ Dude, aren’t y- wait, how old are you?” Felix asked, and Jack blinked.

“Wait, you’re not a teenager, right? That’d be really fookin weird.” Jack said, his accent much more noticeable since he was actually speaking often now that he had someone who needed words to communicate. The animals usually just knew what he was thinking, and in most cases, he knew what was going through their heads, too.

“No, of course not, not for like six years. Why don’t we know how old we are?” Felix said, laughing towards the end. Jack snickered.

“I know your subway order. Priorities, okay?” he chuckled. “So you’re twenty six, huh. You’re older than me by a year.” Jack said, and Felix’ jaw dropped.

“Dude, I thought you were like nineteen!” he said, exploding with laughter. Jack began cracking up as well, and Felix’ mother came up the stairs and shushed them.

“I’ve got guests to entertain. You two can either stay quiet or go do something productive.” she said, and Jack nodded and Felix just groaned in exaggerated annoyance, louder than normal. He was cut off when she shoved him off his chair. He cursed in his native language on the way down and Jack had to bury his face into the mattress to keep from guffawing out loud.

When she left, and Felix had righted himself on his chair, Jack calmed his laughter.

“Hunting season starts tomorrow.” Felix said suddenly, and Jack quirked an eyebrow, a sign to continue.

“Everyone’s gonna be going into the forest to see who can catch the monsters living there.” he frowned, clearly not a fan of the tradition. Jack’s own frown marred his features, etching worry onto his face.

“Why are you telling me this…?” Jack asked, and Felix shrugged.

“They get irritable if they don’t catch anything bigger than a squirrel. Which is all the time. Just stay out of the way of anyone with a gun. There’ve been times people got shot in the middle of arguments, and I’d hate to see you at work.” Felix said, looking over to Jack, who nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, hearing the cars outside Felix’ window zoom past, “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatcha think! Criticism is appreciated :3  
> ~Anna


	4. Four

 

“Shit.” Jack swore,  running with the other animals, away from whatever hunters had found their new circle. A pained squeak made him stop, all the other animals passing him, but slowing to a stop and watching him, nervously tittering and waiting on him, making urgent noises.

“Sh, guys, I can hear something. I think it’s hurt.” he said, and they all quietened immediately, listening for it. The wolves picked it up first, hurriedly following their ears to a patch of tall grass, where they nosed at that thing. Hearing a few shots ring out in the distance, Jack’s head snapped up in the direction it came from, and the animals all made sounds of distress.

Hopping over roots and ducking under branches, Jack made his way over to the wolves and picked up whatever was lying in the grass, not really seeing what it was under all the fluff it sported, but wrapped it in his jacket and held it close to him.

A nudge to his waist made him look down to see the wolves’ eyes dilated, they were all glaring in front of them, hackles raised and teeth bared in a snarl. He shook his head slowly, pushing at the ones closest to him.

“No, come on, they have guns, they’ll kill you, come _on, let’s go._ ” he said. It took less than three seconds for them to get moving again, every animal in the forest escaping the hunters.

Soon, they found themselves at the edge of the forest, with nowhere else to go without running straight into the city.

 _Oh, God,_ Jack found himself thinking as the sounds of the hunters’ boots on the forest floor got louder, and closer. _If ever there was a time for The Beast to start ‘terrorizing people’, it would be now!_

A deep, earth rumbling growl made everyone stop everything. Jack’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped when the tiger and its smaller version came bounding towards them, stopping right in front of them. The tiger was facing the oncoming hunters, teeth bared in a ferocious snarl and eyes glinting in the darkness. He seemed to be bigger than usual, or maybe it was Jack’s terrified mind playing tricks on his eyes. The smaller one was behind them, facing the city with a glare that could rival even the Devil himself, making sure they weren’t snuck up on from behind.

Soon, the hunters were within range, and upon seeing the creature, screamed their fright. Jack sighed in relief, hoping to God they would just get scared and run off. Unfortunately, his relief was short winded, as they began to shoot at the creature, missing by a longshot but almost hitting the animals behind it. With wide eyes, Jack watched as the creature released a loud roar, akin to a battle cry, and pounced on the hunters, taking several of them out with one slashing paw, shredding them to ribbons with claws sharper than obsidian blades. Jack fell to his knees watching the sight, feeling any fruit he may have had earlier rise to his throat. Holding onto a tree for support, Jack threw up all the contents of his stomach, gagging at the stench of blood.

The animals circled around him, shielding him from the sight as he dry heaved, images of the brief moments he’d seen flashing in his mind.

The screams had stopped, but Jack still heard them, remembering their fear stricken faces just before they were killed.

Once he could move again, Jack slowly stood, fingers trembling and making involuntary noises at the back of his throat. He refused to look in the direction of the massacre, just stared at the ground and willed the world to stop spinning. Breathing through his mouth, Jack spat into the dirt, murmuring a soft, absentminded apology to the trees for throwing up over its roots.

“Y…Fucker…” Jack heard, and barely had time to turn to see a hunter- what was left of one of them, somehow clumsily reach for his gun and pull the trigger, not even caring what he hit, just hoping to hit _something_. Jack didn’t even process the horrific sight of the man, just watched as the gun he held had been aimed at one of the deer, and his eyes widened.

Just as the tiger crushed the hunter, Jack had taken the leap, shoved the animal out the way and felt sudden pressure in his stomach, before it exploded into pain. He gave a strangled sounding scream, gritting his teeth as he breathed through them, feeling a wetness spread through his clothes.

Every animal present made their own noise, the sounds growing louder and louder until, after Jack’s head lolled to the side and he saw the tiger looking at him with wide, frantic eyes, it released a sound he’d never heard before. Louder than the other animals and sounding more heartbroken than anything else.

Each breath hurt like nothing he’d ever felt before, but Jack forced himself to keep his eyes open, even if he couldn’t move. He wasn’t sure how long he lay there, staring into the eyes of the animals above him, each looking lost and scared and just so _sad_ that Jack wanted to be able to stand up and do a cartwheel to show he was okay, even with what was most likely a hole in his abdomen. He’d take the pain of it if it meant they would stop looking like that.

Eventually, when he felt like he couldn’t take any more of the pain- of seeing the animals in such a state or of his own suffering, he didn’t know- , he heard it.

The sound of cars. Coming closer, getting louder. The animals, eyes dull with rage and ready to wage war, all watched as the humans got out of their cars a few yards away before slowly inching closer. Men in uniforms, wielding huge guns that looked too futuristic to even be real crept forward. Jack, almost choking on his own blood, turned his head and spat it out with all the strength he could muster. The sound drew the attention of some of the animals, who immediately came to his aid, but didn’t know what they could do to help.

The wolves were growling, the bears were roaring and the tigers… oh, the _tigers._ Jack had never seen them so enraged. He’d never seen _any_ of the animals in such a frenzied state, but the _tigers._

“N..o.” Jack managed to rasp out, and the animals’ ears all swivelled in his direction all at once.

“L’t…thm…” he coughed, the sound drawing the attention of the humans now.

“Someone’s still alive.” he heard a voice say, and coughed again.

“Clr…path.” he choked out, spitting blood out again, and the animals slowly parted, leaving a straight line from the men and Jack. He winced; the car lights and lights of the machines they had brought were blinding. A car door opened.

“Jack?” a familiar voice asked, and he squinted, gasping in surprise only to hiss in pain again.

“Fe…lx.” he managed, and he heard more than saw Felix run across the are towards him. The animals rose, though, even the crickets were protesting, and a man held out an arm in front of Felix.

“These animals are dangerous, Doctor, I’d advise you go back to the-”

“I’d advise you shut the fuck up, _officer,_ that’s my best friend.” the Swede replied in an angered voice, and Jack felt the smile form on his lips.

_“That’s my best friend.”_

“But sir-”

“S…fine. Won’t…bother him.” Jack rasped out, really wanting them to hurry the hell up because he had been _shot with a hunting rifle and was bleeding out on the forest floor._

“We can’t take that risk, doctor.” the man said.

“Ugh…l’ttle. Help?” he ground out, rolling over so he was on his knees, one hand holding himself up as the other was clutched over his wound. The animals crowded behind him, carefully ushering him up, and allowing him to lean on them when he was upright. His shirt was a dark red, and dripping the same colour.

“Requesting backup, every fucking animal in this forest is here.” the officer said quietly, and the ‘chh’ sound made Jack realize he was speaking into his walkie talkie.

Another five cars pulled up soon after, and Jack still hadn’t found the energy to walk the ten steps to Felix, said man watching with an indescribable look of desperation on his face. The doors opened, and a new voice spoke.

“Felix, what the hell is going on?” the voice was deep, smooth, and it made Jack want to hear more of it.

“Explain later. Get Jack out of there.” Felix said, his voice sounding so panicked Jack could have mistaken it for his own thoughts.

“M’coming. Don’t….rush me. F’cker.” he said, and Felix barked out a hysterical laugh.

“Not to ‘rush you’ or anything, Jack, but you’re going to die of blood loss so you should probably be rushing yourself.” Felix said, trying to sound casual but his voice was strained.

“Anyone…” Jack coughed up blood, and staggered a few steps, but was steadied by the small tiger creature. The big one had been unusually quiet this whole time, and Jack weakly raised a hand to snap his fingers.

“What’re you... brood’n…bout. J’st… get me…over there.” he said, and heard a hesitant growl, as if- oh.

_Oh._

_It was scared._

_It was scared it would hurt Jack further._

“It’s…okay. Just…. j’st do it.” he said, clenching his teeth as he felt himself being lifted by a huge mouth all around his body. The movement made pain spark up and down his body and he held in the cream threatening to rip through his lungs.

“Jack, I’m in no way comfortable with this.” Felix’ voice was breathy and high pitched, clearly panicking.

Jack was put down on the back of another animal. It was a silvery colour.

_A bear, then. On all fours._

It walked slowly, towards the men, the other animals following it, but the tiger moved at its side, almost touching it.

Jack was picked up, again, by the tiger, and set on his feet to lean against it. His eyes were closed through the whole ordeal, unimaginable pain threatening to tear him apart.

His vision had become blurry a long time ago.

Opening his eyes again, Jack saw Felix right in front of him with wide, worried eyes focused on his stomach.

“Hey.” he said, slumping forward slightly. “S’rry… ye said ye’d hate ta see me at work.” and then he felt himself falling forwards. He didn’t even know if he had been caught by anything; he couldn’t really feel his limbs since a while ago.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatcha think! Criticism is appreciated :3  
> ~Anna


	5. Five

 

Jack didn’t really wake up; he had been looking up at the white ceiling for days-weeks, even, maybe. It’s just that this was the first time he’d acknowledged that that was what his eyes were pointed at.

Like zoning back in after daydreaming only to find you’d been staring at a person who you’d just made really uncomfortable.

He blinked slowly, only to find he was looking through a glass case to the ceiling above. Finally settling into awareness, Jack was disoriented in so many ways he would have laughed- if he remembered how to do it or knew what he was laughing at.

It took a few minutes to regain the feeling of having limbs, and a little longer to remember what appendages were for, but he got the hang of it and slowly raised a hand to touch the glass above him. From the corner of his eye he could tell that the case was completely transparent, and saw through it to a door to his left and a window to his right, a small bunny sleeping on the sill. Reaching up with the other hand and removing the mask over his nose and mouth, Jack took a few experimental breaths and found he could breathe, but the case was sealed tight, with no air coming in or going out, so he put it back on and took a few breaths while tapping lightly on the glass. The bunny’s ear twitched, but it didn’t wake up.

“Hey little guy,” Jack tried, but his voice came out gravelly, and hurt his throat. The bunny sprang up, though, and looked to him for a few seconds before disappearing out the window. Soon after, the smaller tiger’s head popped into view, eyes wide and relieved as he stuck his head inside and looked at Jack.

“Hi,” he tried again, swallowing his saliva even though it hurt, and continued. “I’ve no idea what happened, but think you can get Felix for me?” he asked. The tiger seemed hesitant to leave but eventually pulled his head out of the window and was gone.

For a few moments, he just waited, looking around. He noticed a small white button to the left of his case, and, not really thinking much of it, pushed it experimentally. It made a beeping sound, and the case opened with the popping sound of a Tupperware container. Jack pushed the top up with all his strength, and sat up slowly. His head spun, and he still felt pain in his abdomen. He peered down, lifting the white shirt he had been put in to see himself wrapped in bandages, covering a patch over the wound. Slowly Jack swung his legs over the edge of his case and let his feet touch the floor. It was cold, and he winced. The bunny came in again, this time through the door, and slid a pair of slippers over to him with its nose, doing so with much difficulty as he kept hopping over them instead of pushing them forward. Jack smiled at the attempt, and lifted the bunny into his lap as he stuck his feet into the slippers, wincing at the stretch on his wound as he bent to pick it up.

It nuzzled into his hand, nose twitching, and heaved a small sigh, settling there. Too cute for Jack to move and disturb, he stayed there and looked around, observing the room he was in.

It was…plain, to be blunt. White walls, white floors, a white ceiling, white bed-sheets inside his case. But it was huge. He was rather close to calling it a Colosseum.

“Jack?!” a voice asked, making him look up. He couldn’t imagine a time he’d been so happy to see another person. Carefully setting the bunny down next to him, Jack stood slowly as Felix came towards him with wide eyes.

“Oh my God, you’re okay.” Felix said, laughing, then pulled Jack in for a hug. Jack winced, as it pulled on his wound, but bore the pain for Felix.

“Shit, you’re still hurt, sorry.” the doctor said eventually, releasing him. Jack smiled.

“S’okay.” he croaked, and Felix ‘ah’ed, reaching for a button on the case and pushing it. In seconds, a woman came in with a glass of water on a round tray, smiling at him.

“Ah, you must be Jack.” she said with an adorable accent. He nodded, a small smile on his face. “I’m Marzia. It’s really nice to meet you. Here you go.” she said, handing him the water.

“Don’t go too fast.” Felix said, purposefully looking away from the raised eyebrows and smirk Jack was sending his way.  
Accepting the glass, Jack sipped it slowly, relishing in the way it soothed his throat.

“Oh God, that’s so much better.” he said, and Marzia grinned.

“He was right, your accent is so cute!” she said, giggling, and Jack gave a small laugh.

“Have you heard yourself talk, you’re adorable.” he replied, making her wrinkle her nose.

“I’ve heard it all my life, it’s not cool anymore.” she said, making him shrug with a smile.

“Same here. So,” he looked to Felix, “Who said anything about me was ‘cute’? I know; I’m an Irishman and Irish people are always cute, but we’re the only ones allowed to say it, d-bag.” he said, jabbing Felix in the side. Swatting at Jack’s hands, Felix made a face at him.

“You’re tiny, lil leprechaun. Everyone’s allowed to call you cute.” he replied. Jack rolled his eyes.

“Ugh. Whatever.” he said.

A disgruntled chirp made them all look to the window, where there was a bird sitting on the sill, it’s head tilted to the side as it inspected Jack’s case.

“Hey buddy, I’m awake.” Jack said, watching as the bird sprung up with joy and flew in a little circle before nosediving straight at Jack. It slowed down before it got there though, and just cuddled up under his chin, tickling his neck.

“The birds can’t-“

“See through the case? Yeah, I figured. She seemed pretty upset, even though I’m right here. Had to go around it.” Jack said, looking up at Felix before back down at the colourful animal trilling happily into his ear.

“Gonna tell everyone I’m okay?” Jack asked as the bird flew over to the window again. It chirruped, and he frowned. “God, no. They can’t all fit in here, we’ll be arrested. I’ll come see them soon though, I promise.” he said, and the bird made a small sound before leaving. Jack smiled at it and looked to the other two.

“…What.”

“You’re a bird talker person?” Felix asked, making him snort.

“No, nothing like that. I just…know what they wanna say.” he mumbled, gently petting the bunny on his bed. It rolled over and he smiled. Marzia squealed, adoring the creature, and it woke up, blinking slowly.

“Wanna hold him?” Jack asked, and her eyes lit up as she nodded.

“You awake?” he asked, and the bunny’s nose twitched as he brought his hand closer. Cupping the bunny in his hands, Jack lifted it off the bed and brought it up to his face. It reached forwards and touched noses with him, making him chuckle. Really, it was too cute. He looked up to Marzia, still excited, and smiled.

“Okay, don’t fidget too much, you’ll make him skittish.” he warned. She nodded, calming herself, and Jack handed the rabbit over to her. It looked between Jack and Marzia.

“Go on, she’s nice. Or so I’ve been told anyw-”

“Oh, look at the time, Jack. You wanna go for some rehab, or you wanna rest some more?” Felix interrupted, earning a curious look from Marzia, which faded into one of adoration as the bunny nosed her cheek. Jack snorted.

“I don’t think I’m up for commitment right now. Can I just walk around a little instead of rehab? I need to stretch my legs before I start anything else for certain.” he said, and Felix nodded, gesturing for him to stand.

He did, slowly, to which Felix nodded his approval again.

“You don’t seem to be lacking in any motor skills. I don’t really think you need the physical rehab, but since it was a hunting round we can never be too sure with the damage it did.” he said, and Jack nodded.

“Uh, can I…have my clothes back, now?” Jack asked, and Felix mumbled a quiet ‘oops.’

“Yeah, uh… those were kinda covered in blood and we had to cut it to get to your wound, so we threw your shirt out.” Marzia said, setting the bunny back on the bed.

“Your jeans and jacket are still good, though. By the way…” Felix trailed off, “There was an animal in your jacket, and The Beast took it with him somewhere.” He said, and Jack’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God I completely forgot about the little guy! I gave him to one of the wolves after I kept tripping over things! Thank God he’s okay.” Jack said, slumping over onto Felix’ shoulder in relief. He was pat on the back, Felix leaving the hand around him until he got off.

“Speaking of “The Beast,” and all that,” Jack snickered, using air quotes, “Where is he?” he asked, and Felix shook his head, heaving a sigh of sudden exhaustion.

“He’s been pacing up and down in front of the building for the past three days, we have no idea what to-”

“Three days?” Jack repeated in shock, and Felix nodded.

“You’ve been out for three days, Jack. Every night he sits outside, closest to your room window and watches. Every day he just paces.” Marzia said, sounding a little uncomfortable about it. “It’s… it’s kind of a problem. The bigger animals are in the Tower, to keep them off the streets. We've got a cloaking device on The Beast, but as for physical contact... we're not that advanced yet. He’s… kind of hard not to bump into, but he refuses to go anywhere else.” she said, and Jack groaned, raising a hand to run through his hair before frowning at the pull on his wound.

“Be careful,” Felix said, noticing his discomfort. “Big movements can reopen it.” he said, and Jack nodded his thanks.

"How'd you get everyone in the Tower?" he asked, and the two looked to each other before back to him.

"We didn't. You did." Felix said after a while, and Jack frowned.

"You don't remember?" Marzia asked. "Jack, you were bleeding out on a stretcher. You told The Beast to get them somewhere safe."

Jack remembered none of this.

“Yeah,” he muttered, “That sounds like me. So can we get out of here? I’m sick of this white.” he said. Felix hesitated for a while, but sighed and nodded to Marzia.

“I’ll get you some of Felix’ clothes to change into.” she said, leaving the room. When she was gone, her footsteps fading away, Jack shoved Felix.

“Dude! She’s freakin gorgeous!” Jack said. “If you didn’t ask her out by now, I swear to God, Felix, I’ll ask her instead and will pester her until she gives up and I’ll hook up with her and I’ll tell you how awesome it is every single day.” he threatened, and Felix raised his hands in an ‘I surrender’ gesture, a wide grin on his face.

“I asked her the day you got shot, actually.” he said, Cheshire grin in place, and Jack’s jaw dropped.

“No fuckin way, and she said yes, right? Right? I knew it!” Jack’s voice raised a few octaves in his excitement, and Felix laughed.

“Shut up, doof.” he said as Marzia came back in with a neatly folded pile of clothes. They both sobered up, Felix coughing into his fist awkwardly.

“I’ve got to go check up on some other patients. See you two later!” she said, handing the clothes to Jack and smiling at them both before leaving.

After she left, they looked to each other and started giggling at their own childishness.

Jack stripped the white shirt off, going slowly so as to not aggravate his wounds, and pulled Felix’ graphic t-shirt over his head carefully. Kicking off the pants to pull his jeans on, Jack struggled a little, but ended up getting it once he sat on the bed and wriggled a bit. Felix watched, amused at his struggle but said nothing, knowing Jack would glare him to death if he did.

“So.” Jack began again, and Felix’ smile crept back onto his face, knowing where the conversation was continuing from. “I’m so proud.” Jack said in a tearful voice, fake sniffling.  
“My little baby’s finally growing up and liking girls!” his voice got squeaky, and Felix burst out laughing, hugging back as Jack grabbed him, pulling him in for a hug.

“I did it, daddy! Just like you said I would!” he was just as high pitched.

“Uh, am I interrupting something?” came a deep voice. The two parted, snickering at themselves, but Jack’s grin fell when he saw the man at the doorway.

Oh.

_Oh._

“Felix, we have a problem.” the guy said, and Jack swallowed harshly at his irritated voice.

 _“Yeah. Yeah, we kind of do.”_ Jack managed to say quietly, and Felix looked to him curiously. He was staring with wide eyes at the newcomer, face getting slowly pinker and pinker. Felix' jaw dropped, and he laughed for five minutes straight, Jack awkwardly red and quiet while Mark just watched on with impatient, confused eyes.

“What’s up, Mark?” Felix asked eventually, and ‘Mark’ huffed in annoyance.

He had dark hair, dyed blue at the tips of a fringe that fell in front of his left eye. Tanned from what was definitely the sun instead of a machine, the guy-Mark- was taller than Jack and pretty buff, but from active work, not just machines. He gave Jack a pointed look, before redirecting his gaze to Felix.

“That thing pacing outside has to go.” he said.

Aaaand all the feels Jack had built up in the five minutes and fifteen seconds Mark had been in the room had just come crumbling down. Jack took an offended step forward, but Felix put a hand on his shoulder.

“Nonononono. There will be none of you doing what I know you’re going to do.” he said, and Jack huffed, sending a glare in Mark’s direction, clearly surprising the man, if his widened eyes were anything to go by.

“Fine. But I _will_ take responsibility for my animals.” he said, and Mark snorted.

“I somehow highly doubt they’re yours.” he said. Jack looked to Felix, who gave him a pleading look.

“Jack, no.” he said, sounding like he was asking a favour. Mark watched the exchange in confusion. This ‘Jack’ guy has been unconscious the entire time he’s been here, how the hell were they so chummy already?

“Felix.” Jack’s tone sounded like a warning. “I’m going to take care of _my_ animals,” he looked Mark in the eye before continuing. “And we’re going to go back home, where we will hopefully not be disturbed, hunting season or not.” he said, but Mark shook his head.

“Actually, we’re going to have to keep you and the animals here for-” he slowed his words, but kept going even though he saw Felix’ slashing motions across his throat to get him to stop. He did, however, when he noticed the green haired man staring at him with dull eyes.

“You’re not doing a thing with what’s mine.” he said, and Mark found himself speechless as Jack pushed past him and left the room. He looked to Felix for explanation, but he wasn’t looking at Mark anymore. And he could see why.

A blue eye was staring straight at him, surrounded by a green sclera and white fur, exuding dominance. Felix cleared his throat.

“Sorry we got him mad, he really loves you guys.” Felix said nervously, and the eye looked to him.

“Getting him mad isn’t exactly very hard to do.” Mark blurt out without thinking, and the eye looked to him again, lingering for a few moments before it disappeared, the body of the creature slinking past the window, taking a full ten seconds to get to the end of its tail.

“Actually…I’ve never seen him mad. At anything, ever. Legit, he got robbed when he was coming to visit me and he was just like ‘I guess it’s my fault I wasn’t paying attention.’ and shit.” Felix said, looking to Mark.

“Jack really loves these animals, Mark,” he said, “You fucked up.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatcha think! Criticism is appreciated :3  
> ~Anna


	6. Six

 

Jack’s eyes were squeezed shut, and he grit his teeth against the pain.

Stalking out may have been cool and all but God, it was painful. Slowing down, he managed to find a decent pace that didn’t seem as if he had been shot a few days before, and left the hospital quietly, pulling Felix’ hoodie over his head and ducking behind other people so as to not be noticed. It was pretty busy, even for a hospital.

Jack wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Pushing the door open, he looked around the area, squinting against both the harsh sun and the glare of it against the hundreds of towering glass buildings. Thinking of the best and quietest way to sneak out of the Capital, Jack held the door for the elderly woman going in. She pinched his cheek with a ‘thank you’, and he frowned, confused, but shook his head anyway.

“It’s alright.” he said with a smile, and she returned it before continuing on her way.

“What was she thanking me for?” he mumbled, wrinkling his nose but shrugging it off and continuing on his way.

The moment his feet were both outside hospital grounds, Jack was assaulted by animals. Birds flew into him, squirrels and smaller animals ran up his frame and attached themselves to wherever they could, and- oh, no.

Jack’s eyes widened as a deer came trotting up to him, across a very busy road. He heard the car horn sounding, but froze to the spot. The deer looked to the car and froze as well, making Jack throw caution to the wind and jump into action. He dashed onto the road and ushered the deer out the way as the car screeched to a halt. Just as the deer had jumped out of harm’s way, Jack felt his hoodie being dragged off him and just out of the way of the car, whose driver was shouting profanities at him. Struggling, he managed to both apologize to the driver and get himself into a position to subtly glance behind him, and breathed a sigh of relief as it was the creature, tugging him away. Once steady on his feet again, the driver cussed him out some ore before driving off, and he moved over to the side of the road. The animals crowded around, worried, but he waved them off with a smile.

“I’m fine, thanks guys.” he said, and looked across the road to the deer stomping restlessly on the other side of the road, staring straight at him. He waved.

“I’m alright!” he shouted across. The stomping stopped, but it tittered in anticipation. Jack looked both ways; traffic was held up by a light a block or two away, and the road was clear in the other direction. He waved it over, beckoning it with exaggerated motions.

“It’s safe now!” he said, and it galloped across with full speed, almost knocking him over when it stopped suddenly in front of him and nosed him. He snickered at the ticklish feeling, and sighed afterwards as he looked at the cars passing again.

“We’ve gotta leave, guys.” he said, and they all looked to him worriedly. “This place is dangerous for animals, you can’t stay.” he said, and they instantly became alert, narrowing their eyes at him and baring their teeth. He barked out a laugh, gently pushing the muzzle of a wolf away.

“I’m not staying if you’re not, don’t worry.” he said, and they all relaxed. Jack looked up at the tiger creature. It was just watching him; had been since he left the hospital.

“Hey buddy,” he said, and the other animals on his person immediately left him so the tiger could lean down and butt him gently. He hugged the creature’s head, stroking the fur and just breathing it’s scent. It reminded him of the forest, and he smiled. Before now, the smell of paint and canvas was home, regardless of where it was. It made his smile fall, but he ignored the feeling and released the creature.

“You’re pretty big, buddy. We gotta get you outta town.” he said, patting its cheek and stepping away. The creature tilted its head to the side slightly, and Jack grinned.

“How did I think you were scary at first? Your adorable.” he said, and the creature growled, making him laugh.

“Alright, alright, you’re a scary demon tiger. Rawr.” he giggled, earning a pleased rumble in response. Jack looked down at his shadow, then up at the sun and frowned.

“It’s midday, we should go back home.” he said, “You’re too big to stay here any longer.”

The creature gave a low growl, and then- whoa.

It shrunk about three sizes, now the size of a normal tiger, and Jack’s jaw dropped.

“Y-You can do that? Wh- you’ve been out here all this time when you could have become a mouse and gotten inside?” he asked. The creature was quiet, and Jack frowned lightly.

“You didn’t think of that, did you?”

No response.

Jack snorted, covering it up with a cough at the embarrassed look he was given. He waved it off.

“Happens to the best of us.” he assured, before giggling.

“Jack!” he turned to see Felix coming towards him with a panicked expression.

“Hey Felix, what’s-“

“Shut the hell up and get back in that hospital, I’m not done with you!” he said, pointing. Jack’s eyes widened and he was slightly pouting. Whoa, Felix raising his voice.

…

Jack wanted to mess with him.

“I mean, I _could,_ but-“

“In. The. Hospital.” Pouting, Jack huffed a sigh and pet the deer. Felix wouldn’t let him finish his snarky comments. No point to it, now.

“I’ll be fine, guys. Go back home with him, I’ll come back soon.” he said, and the animals looked from him to the tiger creature he gestured at. Felix frowned.

“Who’re you talking about?” he asked, and Jack ‘oh’ed, taking Felix’ hand and stretching it out to touch the creature’s fur, but it pulled back. Jack raised an eyebrow.

“Dude, this is Felix. He saved my life, stop being a bitch.” he said, and it narrowed its eyes at him but let Felix’ hand come into contact with it. Said man took a step back when he saw the creature, and mumbled under his breath in Swedish as he noticed the other animals as well.

“This guy. He’s-“

“He’s smaller than I remember.” Felix said suddenly, and Jack coughed out a laugh.

“Yeah, he can…do that, apparently. I’m now learning this shit too, so. Yeah.” he said, and Felix ‘huh’ed, making a face of understanding.

“So, uh. Yeah. Take them home, will you? If anyone gets hurt I’ll hate you forever.” Jack said, looking to the creature. It gave a huff, as if affronted by the idea, and Jack smiled. It faded, however, when the creature raised its head and made a sound not unlike a howl, but somehow entirely different. Jack recognized it as the sound it made when calling for its smaller version.

When the smaller one came, it pounced at Jack, only for the bigger one to slam a paw down on its tail and kept it from knocking him over.

Jack looked to Felix.

“Cartoon moment.” Felix said before he could, and they snickered like kids.

The bigger one released its counterpart’s tail, and it moved slowly towards Jack, who smiled as it rubbed its face against his arm.

“Hey there,” Jack began, “This is Felix, say hi.”

The tiger buried its nose in Jack’s side, but its eyes slid over to where Felix was watching in fascination and mild curiosity. It observed him for a few moments before ignoring him, huffing and looking back up at Jack.

“He likes you.” Jack said, and Felix chuckled.

“I don’t get how you know that, but sure.” he replied. Jack grinned at him before patting the tiger’s head.

“Hey, can you take everyone back home for me? I might need to stay here till I get better.” he said, and the animals began protesting, but Jack sighed.

“Guys, I got shot. There’s an actual hole in my stomach, I need human assistance.” he said, and they quietened. Felix ‘huh’ed.

“They actually do understand you.” he said, and Jack shrugged.

“They know what you’re saying too.” he mumbled, making Felix ‘hm’ thoughtfully. “Kay guys, I’ll see you soon.” Jack said after a few seconds of silence, and the tiger untangled its tail from his legs- when did it even do that?- and licked his chin before making a rumbling sound, deep in his throat. The other animals perked up instantly and followed it towards the city entrance.

“They won’t get in any trouble, right?” Felix asked nervously. He watched Jack’s eyes turn hard as he looked to The Beast. It stared back at him before looking away, and Jack’s eyes returned to their usual warmth, a small, relieved smile settling on his face.

“Nah, they’ll be fine.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatcha think! Criticism is appreciated :3  
> ~Anna


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